Disposable thermometer probe sheath and fabrication method thereof

ABSTRACT

A disposable thermometer probe sheath includes a bottom piece and a plastic cover film sealed onto the bottom piece. The plastic cover film comprising an upper plastic sheet film and a lower plastic sheet film, each of which has a front edge provided with an opening, a rear edge provided with a tip, and a sealed peripheral edge except for the opening, so as to receive a thermometer probe. The plastic cover film is made of a flexible and deformable material, while the plastic cover film is provided with two notches respectively formed on two side edges adjacent to the tip. The upper plastic sheet film is provided with a first flap attached to the opening thereof, while the lower plastic sheet film is provided with a second flap attached to the opening. When the thermometer probe is inserted into the plastic cover film, the notches are tightly engaged with the thermometer probe. When separating the thermometer probe from the plastic cover film, one of the upper plastic sheet film and the lower plastic sheet film of the plastic cover film is torn from the opening thereof along a longitudinal direction of the plastic cover film under the assistance of the engagement between the two notches and the thermometer probe, and then the one of the upper plastic sheet film and the lower plastic sheet film will be overturned from the opening toward the tip of the plastic cover film, so that the thermometer probe is separated from the plastic cover film.

The current application is a continuation application of, and claims apriority to Ser. No. 11/892,236 filed on Aug. 21, 2007 now U.S. Pat. No.7,845,850.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a disposable thermometer probe sheathand a fabrication method thereof, and more particularly to a disposablethermometer probe sheath which will be discarded after use, whereinpossible infections caused by the used thermometer probe sheath can beprevented.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Some known prior arts, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,164,285, TW Patent No.373067, No. 343736, and No. 311174, respectively disclose a disposablesheath for accommodating a thermometer probe. Referring now to FIGS. 1Aand 1B, a conventional disposable sheath 10 has an opening portion(unlabeled) for receiving a probe 111 of a thermometer 11. After thedisposable sheath 10 and the thermometer 11 are used to detect one'sbody temperature, the disposable sheath 10 will be separated from thethermometer 11 for discarding. However, an outer plastic film 101 of thedisposable sheath 10 will be directly exposed out of the atmosphereduring the separating operation, so as to cause a risk of medicalhygiene. For example, when a medical staff member uses the thermometer11 covered with the disposable sheath 10 to detect a patient's bodytemperature, the outer plastic film 101 of the disposable sheath 10 maybe contaminated by the patient's secretion, resulting in increasing thecontamination risk of the medical staff member. In another aspect, thematerial and the tip shape of the outer plastic film 101 of thedisposable sheath 10 generally play an important role in the contacttightness between the disposable sheath 10 and the probe 111 of thethermometer 11.

Therefore, the conventional disposable sheath of the thermometerapparently causes the usage inconvenience and the risk trouble of usersand medical staff. As a result, it is an important issue for relatedmanufacturers to think how to provide a convenient and efficientthermometer probe sheath for preventing the medical staff from being incontact with the contaminated outer plastic film of the disposablesheath

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To solve the foregoing problems, the present invention provides adisposable thermometer probe sheath and a fabrication method thereof,wherein a probe sheath 20 comprises a bottom piece 22 and a plasticcover film 23 which is sealed onto the bottom piece 22. The plasticcover film 23 includes an upper plastic sheet film 231 and a lowerplastic sheet film 232, each of which has a front edge provided with anopening 233 and a rear edge provided with a tip 234. The upper plasticsheet film 231 has its peripheral edge sealed around the peripheral edgeof the lower plastic sheet film 232 except for the opening 233 so as toreceive a thermometer probe 21 in the plastic cover film 23. It ischaracterized in that the plastic cover film 23 is made of a flexible,deformable and nonfragile material, such as low density polyethylene(LDPE), linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), or ultra low densitypolyethylene (ULDPE), while the plastic cover film 23 is provided withtwo notches 235 respectively formed on two side edges adjacent to thetip 234. When the thermometer probe 21 is inserted into the plasticcover film 23, the notches 235 are plastically deformed and tightlyengaged with the thermometer probe 21. The upper plastic sheet film 231is provided with a first flap 24 attached to the opening 233 thereof,while the lower plastic sheet film 232 is provided with a second flap 25attached to the opening 233. When separating the thermometer probe 21from the plastic cover film 23, a user can tear one of the upper plasticsheet film 231 and the lower plastic sheet film 232 of the plastic coverfilm 23 from one of the first flap 24 and the second flap 25 along alongitudinal direction of the plastic cover film 23, and then the one ofthe upper plastic sheet film 231 and the lower plastic sheet film 232will be plastically deformed and overturned from the opening 233 towardthe tip 234 of the plastic cover film 23, so that the thermometer probe21 will be separated from the plastic cover film 23.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a disposablethermometer probe sheath, which can be tightly engaged with athermometer probe inserted therein, so as to prevent the thermometerprobe from being detached therefrom.

A secondary object of the present invention is to provide a disposablethermometer probe sheath, wherein when the thermometer probe isseparated from the sheath, the sheath is plastically deformed andoverturned to be separated from the thermometer probe, so as to lowerthe risk of contacting with a plastic cover film of the sheath.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a disposablethermometer probe sheath, wherein the thermometer probe can be smoothlyinserted into the sheath.

A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a disposablethermometer probe sheath, wherein when the thermometer probe is insertedinto the sheath, the two flaps having different colors or dimensions andprovided to the sheath cause a visional contrast to enhance theoperation convenience.

A fifth object of the present invention is to provide a fabricationmethod of a disposable thermometer probe sheath, which can be tightlyengaged with a thermometer probe inserted therein, so as to prevent thethermometer probe from being detached therefrom.

A sixth object of the present invention is to provide a fabricationmethod of a disposable thermometer probe sheath, wherein when thethermometer probe is separated from the sheath, the sheath isplastically deformed and overturned to be separated from the thermometerprobe, so as to lower the risk of contacting with a plastic cover filmof the sheath.

A seventh object of the present invention is to provide a fabricationmethod of a disposable thermometer probe sheath, wherein the thermometerprobe can be smoothly inserted into the sheath.

An eighth object of the present invention is to provide a fabricationmethod of a disposable thermometer probe sheath, wherein when thethermometer probe is inserted into the sheath, the two flaps havingdifferent colors or dimensions and provided to the sheath cause avisional contrast to enhance the operation convenience.

A ninth object of the present invention is to provide a fabricationmethod of a disposable thermometer probe sheath, which is advantageousto carry out a continuous volume production of the disposablethermometer probe sheath.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure and the technical means adopted by the present inventionto achieve the above and other objects can be best understood byreferring to the following detailed description of the preferredembodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein

FIG. 1A is an assembled view of a conventional disposable thermometerprobe sheath;

FIG. 1B is an operational view of the conventional disposablethermometer probe sheath which receives a thermometer probe;

FIG. 2A is an exploded perspective view of a disposable thermometerprobe sheath provided with two notches according to a preferredembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2B is an operational view of the disposable thermometer probesheath provided with the two notches engaged with a thermometer probeaccording to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2C is a top view of a packaging of the disposable thermometer probesheath according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3A is an exploded perspective view of a disposable thermometerprobe sheath provided with two notches according to another preferredembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 3B is an operational view of the disposable thermometer probesheath provided with the two notches engaged with a thermometer probeaccording to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention relates to a disposable thermometer probe sheath,which uses a thermometer principle, wherein those skilled in the art canapparently understand the thermometer principle, so that the detaileddescription thereof will be omitted hereinafter. Meanwhile, thestructure and the technical means adopted by the present invention canbe best understood by referring to the following detailed description ofthe preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings which are not(and needs not be) illustrated according to actual sizes.

Referring now to FIG. 2A, a disposable thermometer probe sheathaccording to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention isillustrated. As shown, the disposable thermometer probe sheathdesignated by numeral 20 is applied to a thermometer probe 21, andcomprises a bottom piece 22 and a plastic cover film 23 which is sealedonto the bottom piece 22. The plastic cover film 23 composed of an upperplastic sheet film 231 and a lower plastic sheet film 232 has on itsfront edge an opening 233 and on its rear edge a tip 234. In addition,the upper plastic sheet film 231 has its peripheral edge sealed aroundthe peripheral edge of the lower plastic sheet film 232 except for theopening 233 so as to receive a thermometer probe 21 in the plastic coverfilm 23, as shown in FIG. 2B. An inner surface of the plastic cover film23 is preferably coated with an ointment, so that the thermometer probe21 can be smoothly inserted into the plastic cover film 23. Especially,the plastic cover film 23 is provided with two notches 235 respectivelyformed on two side edges adjacent to the tip 234, the upper plasticsheet film 231 is provided with a first flap 24 attached to the opening233 thereof, while the lower plastic sheet film 232 is provided with asecond flap 25 attached to the opening 233.

Furthermore, due to the plastic deformability of the material of theplastic cover film 23, the two notches 235 respectively formed on thetwo side edges of the plastic cover film 23 can make the thermometerprobe 21 being tightly engaged with the plastic cover film 23, so as toprevent the thermometer probe 21 from being detached from the plasticcover film 23. The shape of the two notches 235 is preferably selectedfrom a V shape, a square shape, or an arc-type shape. The shape of thetip 234 of the plastic cover film 23 is preferably selected from atrapezoidal shape tapered toward the rear end thereof, a rectangularshape, or an arc-type shape, all of which are corresponding to the shapeof the two notches 235 for being tightly engaged with the thermometerprobe 21, wherein the arc-type shape of the tip 234 is formed in therear end of the plastic cover film 23 beyond the two notches 235.Referring now to FIG. 3A, in an alternative preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, the plastic cover film 23 is provided with two firstnotches 235 and two second notches 236 respectively formed on two sideedges adjacent to the tip 234 in turn, wherein the two second notches236 is used to enhance the tightness for contacting the plastic coverfilm 23 with the thermometer probe 21, as shown in FIG. 3B.

Moreover, each of the upper plastic sheet film 231 and the lower plasticsheet film 232 of the plastic cover film 23 is a thin transparent film,respectively which is made of flexible, deformable and nonfragilematerial, such as low density polyethylene (LDPE), linear low densitypolyethylene (LLDPE), or ultra low density polyethylene (ULDPE), whichprovides a higher flexibility, a higher deformability, and a highernonfragile property than that of conventional plastic sheet film. Afterthe thermometer probe 21 is used to detect one's body temperature, thethermometer probe 21 will be separated from the plastic cover film 23.At this time, a user can exert a force on the one of the first flap 24and the second flap 25 along a longitudinal direction of the plasticcover film 23 such that the plastic sheet film 23 will be plasticallydeformed and overturned from the opening 233 toward the tip 234 of theplastic cover film 23 so as to separate the plastic cover film 23 fromthe thermometer probe 21. As a result, two outer surfaces of the upperplastic sheet film 231 and the lower plastic sheet film 232 of theplastic cover film 23, which are in contact with one's body, will beoverturned and faced toward each other in an overturned status, so as toefficiently lower the contamination risk of users and medical staffcaused by contacting with the outer surfaces thereof.

In the first preferred embodiment of the present invention, the firstflap 24 and the second flap 25 attached to the opening 233 of theplastic cover film 23 preferably are provided with different colors ordimensions to cause a visual contrast (such as a color contrast or adimension contrast) to enhance the operation convenience, so that a usercan easily identify and operate the first flap 24 and the second flap25.

On the other hand, in order to conveniently deliver the disposablethermometer probe sheath 20 to customers and to prevent it from beingcontaminated due to contacting with external objects before use, thepresent invention further provides a packaging 26 for protecting thedisposable thermometer probe sheath 20, as shown in FIG. 2C. Thepackaging 26 is sealed onto both sides and a bottom end of the bottompiece 22 of the disposable thermometer probe sheath 20, while thepackaging 26 is made of a paper sheet having a surface coated withoriented polypropylene (OPP), so that the packaging 26 is easy to beseparated from the bottom piece 22 or the plastic cover film 23(not-shown).

According to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention, afabrication method of a disposable thermometer probe sheath 20 appliedto a thermometer probe 21 comprises the following steps:

(1) Providing a bottom piece 22; and

(2) Providing a plastic cover film 23 sealed onto the bottom piece 22.

Referring back to FIG. 2A, in the second preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, the plastic cover film 23 composed of an upperplastic sheet film 231 and a lower plastic sheet film 232 has on itsfront edge an opening 233 and on its rear edge a tip 234. In addition,the upper plastic sheet film 231 has its peripheral edge sealed aroundthe peripheral edge of the lower plastic sheet film 232 except for theopening 233 so as to receive a thermometer probe 21 in the plastic coverfilm 23, as shown in FIG. 2B. An inner surface of the plastic cover film23 is preferably coated with an ointment, so that the thermometer probe21 can be smoothly inserted into the plastic cover film 23. Especially,the plastic cover film 23 is provided with two notches 235 respectivelyformed on two side edges adjacent to the tip 234, the upper plasticsheet film 231 is provided with a first flap 24 attached to the opening233 thereof, while the lower plastic sheet film 232 is provided with asecond flap 25 attached to the opening 233.

Furthermore, due to the plastic deformability of the material of theplastic cover film 23, the two notches 235 respectively formed on thetwo side edges of the plastic cover film 23 can make the thermometerprobe 21 being tightly engaged with the plastic cover film 23, so as toprevent the thermometer probe 21 from being detached from the plasticcover film 23. The shape of the two notches 235 is preferably selectedfrom a V-shaped shape, a square shape, or an arc-type shape. The shapeof the tip 234 of the plastic cover film 23 is preferably selected froma trapezoidal shape tapered toward the rear end thereof, a rectangularshape, or an arc-type shape, all of which are corresponding to the shapeof the two notches 235 for being tightly engaged with the thermometerprobe 21, wherein the arc-type shape of the tip 234 is formed in therear end of the plastic cover film 23 beyond the two notches 235.Referring now to FIG. 3A, in an alternative preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, the plastic cover film 23 is provided with two firstnotches 235 and two second notches 236 respectively formed on two sideedges adjacent to the tip 234 in turn, wherein the two second notches236 is used to enhance the tightness for contacting the plastic coverfilm 23 with the thermometer probe 21, as shown in FIG. 3B.

Moreover, each of the upper plastic sheet film 231 and the lower plasticsheet film 232 of the plastic cover film 23 is a thin transparent film,respectively which is made of flexible, deformable, and nonfragilematerial, such as low density polyethylene (LDPE), linear low densitypolyethylene (LLDPE), or ultra low density polyethylene (ULDPE), whichprovides a higher flexibility, a higher deformability, and a highernonfragile property than that of conventional plastic sheet film. Afterthe thermometer probe 21 is used to detect one's body temperature, thethermometer probe 21 will be separated from the plastic cover film 23.At this time, a user can exert a force on one of the first flap 24 andthe second flap 25 along a longitudinal direction of the plastic coverfilm 23 such that the plastic sheet film 23 will be plastically deformedand overturned from the opening 233 toward the tip 234 of the plasticcover film 23 so as to separate the plastic cover film 23 from thethermometer probe 21. As a result, two outer surfaces of the upperplastic sheet film 231 and the lower plastic sheet film 232 of theplastic cover film 23, which are in contact with one's body, will beoverturned and faced toward each other in an overturned status, so as toefficiently lower the contamination risk of users and medical staffcaused by contacting with the outer surfaces thereof.

In the second preferred embodiment of the present invention, the firstflap 24 and the second flap 25 attached to the opening 233 of theplastic cover film 23 preferably are provided with different colors ordimensions to cause a visual contrast (such as a color contrast or adimension contrast) to enhance the operation convenience, so that a usercan easily identify and operate the first flap 24 and the second flap25.

On the other hand, in order to conveniently output the disposablethermometer probe sheath 20 to customers and to prevent it from beingcontaminated due to contacting with external objects before use, thepresent invention further provides a packaging 26 for protecting thedisposable thermometer probe sheath 20, as shown in FIG. 2C. Thepackaging 26 is sealed onto both sides and a bottom end of the bottompiece 22 of the disposable thermometer probe sheath 20, while thepackaging 26 is made of a paper sheet having a surface applied withoriented polypropylene (OPP), so that the packaging 26 is easy to beseparated from the bottom piece 22 or the plastic cover film 23(not-shown).

According to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention, afabrication method of a disposable thermometer probe sheath 20 appliedto a thermometer probe 21 comprises the following steps:

(1) Continuously providing a bottom piece 22 by an automatic equipment;and

(2) Continuously providing a plastic cover film 23 sealed onto thebottom piece 22 by an automatic production equipment so as to producethe disposable thermometer probe sheath 20 in a continuous strip form.

In the third preferred embodiment of the present invention, thedisposable thermometer probe sheath 20 is automatically manufactured tocarry out a continuous batch and volume production, wherein afabrication method for each of the disposable thermometer probe sheath20 is the same as that of the second preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

According to a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention, adisposable thermometer probe sheath 20 applied to a thermometer probe 21comprises a plastic cover film 23, but a bottom piece 22 is furtheromitted, wherein the plastic cover film 23 is composed of an upperplastic sheet film 231 and a lower plastic sheet film 232, both of whichare made of flexible, deformable, and nonfragile material, such as lowdensity polyethylene (LDPE), linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), orultra low density polyethylene (ULDPE), which provides a higherflexibility, a higher deformability, and a higher nonfragile propertythan that of conventional plastic sheet film. Other features of thedisposable thermometer probe sheath 20 are the same as that of the firstpreferred embodiment of the present invention.

According to a fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention, adisposable thermometer probe sheath 20 applied to a thermometer probe 21comprises a bottom piece 22 and a plastic cover film 23 which is sealedonto the bottom piece 22, wherein the plastic cover film 23 is composedof an upper plastic sheet film 231 and a lower plastic sheet film 232has on its front edge an opening 233. Especially, the upper plasticsheet film 231 is provided with a first flap 24 attached to the opening233 thereof, but the lower plastic sheet film 232 is not provided withany flap attached to the opening 233 thereof. In addition, the firstflap 24 and the bottom piece 22 preferably are provided with differentcolors (such as one is blue and the other is white) to cause a visualcontrast (such as a color contrast) to enhance the operationconvenience, so that a user can easily identify and operate the firstflap 24. Other features of the disposable thermometer probe sheath 20are the same as that of the first preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

According to a sixth preferred embodiment of the present invention, afabrication method of a disposable thermometer probe sheath 20 appliedto a thermometer probe 21 is disclosed, wherein the structural featuresof the disposable thermometer probe sheath 20 are the same as that ofthe fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention, while thefabrication features thereof are the same as that of the secondpreferred embodiment of the present invention.

According to a seventh preferred embodiment of the present invention, afabrication method of a disposable thermometer probe sheath 20 appliedto a thermometer probe 21 is disclosed, wherein the structural featuresof the disposable thermometer probe sheath 20 are the same as that ofthe fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention, while thefabrication features thereof are the same as that of the third preferredembodiment of the present invention.

According to an eighth preferred embodiment of the present invention, adisposable thermometer probe sheath 20 applied to a thermometer probe 21comprises a plastic cover film 23, wherein the plastic cover film 23 iscomposed of an upper plastic sheet film 231 and a lower plastic sheetfilm 232, both of which are made of flexible, deformable, and nonfragilematerial, such as low density polyethylene (LDPE), linear low densitypolyethylene (LLDPE), or ultra low density polyethylene (ULDPE), whichprovides a higher flexibility, a higher deformability, and a highernonfragile property than that of conventional plastic sheet film.Furthermore, the plastic cover film 23 has on its front edge an opening233 and the upper plastic sheet film 231 is provided with a first flap24 attached to the opening 233 thereof, but the lower plastic sheet film232 is not provided with any flap attached to the opening 233 thereof.In addition, other features of the disposable thermometer probe sheath20 are the same as that of the fourth preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

The present invention has been described with a preferred embodimentthereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications to thedescribed embodiment can be carried out without departing from the scopeand the spirit of the invention that is intended to be limited only bythe appended claims.

1. A disposable thermometer probe sheath, comprising a plastic coverfilm, wherein the plastic cover film having an upper plastic sheet filmand a lower plastic sheet film has an opening on its front edge and atip on its rear edge; the upper plastic sheet film having its peripheraledge sealed around the peripheral edge of the lower plastic sheet filmexcept for the opening so as to receive a thermometer probe;characterized in that: the plastic cover film is made of a flexible anddeformable material and it is provided with two notches respectivelyformed on two side edges adjacent to the tip such that the notches areplastically deformed and tightly engaged with the thermometer probe whenthe thermometer probe is inserted into the plastic cover film; and theplastic cover film is plastically deformed and overturned from itsopening toward its tip such that its upper plastic sheet film's outersurface and its lower plastic film's outer surface are overturned toface each other while a force is exerted on the opening along alongitudinal direction of the plastic cover film, when the thermometerprobe is separated from the plastic cover film.
 2. A disposablethermometer probe sheath, comprising a plastic cover film, wherein theplastic cover film having an upper plastic sheet film and a lowerplastic sheet film has an opening on its front edge and a tip on itsrear edge; the upper plastic sheet film having its peripheral edgesealed around the peripheral edge of the lower plastic sheet film exceptfor the opening so as to receive a thermometer probe; characterized inthat: the plastic cover film is made of a flexible and deformablematerial and it is provided with two notches respectively formed on twoside edges adjacent to the tip, such that the notches are plasticallydeformed and tightly engaged with the thermometer probe when thethermometer probe is inserted into the plastic cover film; and theplastic cover film is plastically deformed and overturned from itsopening toward its tip while a force is exerted on the opening along alongitudinal direction of the plastic cover film, when the thermometerprobe is separated from the plastic cover film, wherein the upperplastic sheet film is provided with a first flap attached to the openingand the lower plastic sheet film is provided with a second flap attachedto the opening, respectively.
 3. The disposable thermometer probe sheathof claim 2, wherein the first flap and the second flap are provided withdifferent colors to cause a color contrast.
 4. The disposablethermometer probe sheath of claim 2, wherein the first flap and thesecond flap are provided with different sizes.
 5. The disposablethermometer probe sheath of claim 2, further comprising a packagingsealed onto both sides and a bottom end of the bottom piece.
 6. Thedisposable thermometer probe sheath of claim 2, wherein the plasticcover film is made of a material selected from one of the groupconsisting of low density polyethylene (LDPE), linear low densitypolyethylene (LLDPE), and ultra low density polyethylene (ULDPE).
 7. Thedisposable thermometer probe sheath of claim 5, wherein the packaging isa paper sheet.
 8. The disposable thermometer probe sheath of claim 7,wherein the paper sheet is coated with an oriented polypropylene (OPP).